For Them
by hiraikoneko
Summary: She was forty years old, with no one to call her own. Her sister was married to her only living teammate and the Elders had removed Neji from the clan. The clan was in shambles, bordering on a war between the two halves. To make matters worse, the Elders staged a coup behind her back. And as a result, the man she loved without telling was dying. But she can fix it. With time travel
1. For the Hokage

**_DISCLAIMER:_** ** _I do not own Naruto, it's characters or any of its ideas! Those belong to the rightful owner. I'm just a fan with way to much time to procrastinate away and write fanfics all day._**

 ** _I don't know why exactly i decided to write a time travel fic, but hey...it's 1:30 in the morning and I have exams. This is my stress relief._** ** _Expect sporadic updates, if any at all. I can't guarantee how long this fic will last._**

 ** _This fic starts AU, and it will definitely end AU._**

* * *

Hinata was forty years old. She was forty years old and still, she was alone. She had never married. She'd never bore any man's child, or a single Heir to the clan. And as such, she had named her little sister's son her heir. She was proud of Hanabi, and happy for her and Shino. They were a cute couple, despite what many thought. Other people thought it was strange, and many Hyuuga looked down on them. They found Shino's colony revolting. Hinata, being his former team mate hardly even noticed. She was just so happy for both of them. They had embraced themselves and their feelings.

Unlike her. Hinata had never had the courage. She never confessed to the man that still held her heart. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. The Hokage. The Child of Prophecy. And so, so much more. He brought peace to the Elemental Nations. He made Konoha safe and stopped Madara once and for all. She had loved him since she was a small child, but she was a coward, and could only sit back and bear the pain of watching him fall for Sakura Haruno. She had even been a bridesmaid at their wedding.

Confessing to the love of her life wasn't her only shortcoming. She'd failed to bring peace to her own clan. She was clan head, but still the Main and Branch families fought. It had gotten far worse. Her cousin, Neji, had left the clan all together. She had barely managed to convince the Elders not to kill him. She had had Naruto develop a seal to stop Neji's children from having the Byakugan. It had been the only way to save his life.

Hinata was forty, and she had done nothing to hold her loved ones close. Her cousin married a nice civilian girl. She was a little sickly, but she took good care of him. She kept him in line, and she kept him happy. It was all Hinata could ask. They had three children, the eldest was a boy, and the other two were twin girls. They caused a lot of trouble. Hinata just adored them, and did her best to visit, when she knew the Elder's weren't watching her.

She was happy for everyone she loved...but she hated them, to a tiny degree. As selfish as it was, she just wanted someone to love her too. She wanted to have a child who would stare up at her with such adoration like Hanabi's boy, or Neji's little monsters. The Elders would not even allow her the chance to adopt. If she could, she would have taken all the orphans left from the Fourth War.

It was on the anniversary of the war that Naruto made his annual speech. His words gave them hope, and kept the peace in the village. They were a reminder of all those lost, and why peace was needed. Why equality was needed.

And this year, his speech would change the world.

This year, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze was assassinated.

From her place on the balcony beside the Hokage, Hinata could see everyone in the crowd. It was her duty as Hyuuga Clan Head to use her Byakugan and watch out for attacks while the Hokage gave his speech. Her eyes were perfect for the job.

But they were not as perfect as they should have been. She had been losing her vision for years now. Her eyesight slowly fading, and the range of her Byakugan shrinking with every time she used it. She had wanted to tell Naruto, to get someone else to fill in for her, but the Elders had forbid it, and threatened to harm her sister or cousin if she disobeyed them. She could not let that happen.

It was a quick death. Nearly painless. No one saw the senbon coming, not even Hinata, or Sakura, who had stood on Naruto's other side, being the loyal wife she was. One moment his chakra had blazed brightly, and his voice had rung out across the square for all to hear, and the next, he was down, a senbon driven into his jugular. Blood leaked out of the puncture and stained his Hokage robes crimson.

Hinata hadn't even noticed that she was screaming.

"NARUTO!"

Sakura only stood off to the side, her eyes wide and horrified. After a moment, the pink haired woman snapped out of it and tried to activate her medical chakra. It was like the chakra inside her was thick and sluggish. She just couldn't get it to move the way she needed it to.

"No! No, no no! This can't be- Why isn't- N-no..." Realization dawned on her. She had been drugged. It was the same drug Tsunade-sama had used on Jiraiya to destroy his chakra control. Her sensei had taught her how to make it long ago, when she was still the Fifth Hokage and Sakura's team had been disbanded.

Sakura began sobbing as she tried over and over again to gain control. She had to save him- She had to save her husband!

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered as she lifted Naruto's head and placed it on her lap. She ran her hand through his blond hair, staring into those beautiful, life-filled blue eyes.

"H-Hina-ta..." He whispered back. He lifted his hand to touch her face, "I-I'm...not...healing."

Her eyes widened. How could she have missed that? Where was the kyuubi? Where was the fox?

Her Byakugan flared to life as she tried to look at his seal. Then she noticed it, there was an extra character, one that had never been there before in all the years that Hinata had known him and had looked at his chakra to know he was okay.

He was losing too much blood. Hinata tried to stop the blood flow, even as Sakura dropped to the floor with a senbon in her own throat. Down below, the citizens were screaming in terror.

"W-What do I do? N-Naruto? I...I don't know w-what to do!" Hinata wailed in panic. She had to do something! Where were the medics? The ANBU?! Where was Shikamaru and his men? Weren't they the Hokage's personal guard?

How could this have happened? Someone had done something to Naruto's seal! He hadn't even noticed...someone had done something to Sakura's chakra, and she didn't even detect it...Hinata hadn't even seen the attack coming! No one knew about her eyes. No one.

Except for her clan.

The same clan that stopped her from trading with someone else. The clan that was at war with itself. The clan that believed itself better than all the rest.

Those bastards. They were staging a coup.

"Oh Kami...Naruto, j-just hang in there, o-okay?"

"Hin-ata...I-I need you to-to touch m-my seal."

She stared at him for a short moment before she did as he said. She placed her hand on his seal, sliding it up his shirt for direct contact. Had it been any other time, she would have blushed...but now...now was not the time.

The moment she touched the seal, she was dragged into his mind. She stood in an empty tunnel. There was a faint odour, and the floor and lower walls were stained badly with something that she refused to think of.

"Hinata!" A voice called. Instantly, Hinata found herself running for it. Naruto.

She found him in front of a massive cage. Inside, she could see the kyuubi growling furiously. Naruto smiled sadly to her.

"N-Naruto-kun."

"Hinata...I'm sorry."

"No! I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. My...my clan...I think they're the ones behind it. I-I didn't see the senbon and- you- Sakura! I-" Hinata felt herself falling apart with the guilt of it all. She could take the life of an enemy, but to be even indirectly responsible for the death of her comrades-

Arms wrapped around her, "Shh...Hinata-chan. It's okay. It isn't your fault. You had no way of knowing. We both know how they used you."

She sobbed quietly.

"It's alright Hinata...but right now, we need to talk about something else." he pulled away from her slightly and stared her firmly in the eyes. She could see some strange emotion dancing behind his eyes.

There was a loud crash as part of one of the walls crumbled. It was a reflection of what was happening to Naruto's life force.

"W-What is it?"

"I'm going to die." He said it with a smile, like he was perfectly fine with his death.

"N-no, don't say that! Someone will come up and heal you! It's just a little hole!"

"I've already lost a lot of blood. But it's alright Hinata-chan." He told her with a smile, "I have something really important to ask of you...A mission, if you will."

She stared at him. He was...giving her a mission. It would be the last mission she ever did for him. The last mission any of them did for him.

"What is it...Hokage-sama?"

He grinned that grin that looked like he was the living embodiment of the sun. Warm and bright.

"I need you to go back in time for me!"

"What?"

"Kurama knows this jutsu, and it'll send the target back in time. I- I want you to go back, Hinata-chan. I want you to go back and...fix a lot of things."

"Why-Why me? What do you want me to change?"

"You're life. I want you to change your life, Hinata-chan. You're the Hyuuga Clan Head...I want you to take charge of your clan and bring peace back to them. And Hinata...I don't want you to be alone."

As he stared into her eyes, Hinata felt something grip her chakra. She hadn't even noticed the fox behind Naruto making hand seals.

There was a great rumble and the floor began to shake as the mindscape continued to break apart. Behind the walls of the tunnel, Hinata could see the pure darkness of oblivion, waiting to swallow them. Him. Naruto.

"I know that...you loved some idiot in the past, but he was too dense to realize how you felt, or how he felt, until it was too late."

How...he felt? Hinata tried not to get her hopes up. Surely he didn't mean-

"He didn't realize he loved you until he married the wrong girl."

She gaped at him.

"So, Hinata...I want you to go back. I want you to save lives. Including your own." He rested his forehead against hers, "And maybe mine too."

And with that, Kurama finished the hand signs, and in a brilliant flash of light, she was gone.

Naruto turned to Kurama with a look that made him appear twenty years older than he really was.

"Well, it looks like I'm dying."

"Sorry, gaki."

"It's cool. I...kinda expected it."

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"How? Did you expect me to ask Hinata to go all Itachi on them?" Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened, "And then Neji or Hanabi would become Sasuke, and it'd all start over!"

He shuddered and the fox laughed. It wasn't a cheerful laugh, but bitter instead. Bitter, tired, and though the fox would never admit it, full of grief.

The floor began to break away, and the bars on Kurama's cage rusted and broke down into dust.

"Gaki."

"Yeah." Naruto shook his head, "When I'm gone, you better not attack my village."

The fox laughed again and shook his head.

"Good. 'Cause if you did, the second the next idiot used Edo Tensei and brought me back, I'd track you down and whoop your ass."

The fox grinned, "I believe that."

"But seriously, don't touch my village."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good. Otherwise I'd haunt your nightmares."

The mindscape gave one last violent shudder before everything cracked and fell apart.

"Good bye, gaki."

"Bastard."

* * *

 ** _Short, I know. Sorry. Next chapter will definitely be longer. If I actually do write it._**


	2. For Her Past Self

_**Again, as a reminder, this story does take place in a slightly different universe. Things are a little different, even now.**_

* * *

Hinata was forty years old. She knew that, but she didn't feel like it.

As she woke up, she was aware she was no longer with Naruto in his mind. No longer on the balcony, watching him die. She was in her room. Not the one she slept in now. No...She was in her childhood bedroom. The walls were a soft lavender, and little stuffed animals lined the shelves. She was tucked into her little bed, with a butterfly patterned blanket wrapped around her, keeping her warm and safe.

It took a moment for her to get her senses together. When they did, she found herself in shock.

She was smaller.

Tumbling from the bed, feeling pain flare up in too-small knees, feeling her eyes tear up a little, she ran for the mirror. She needed to see.

Arriving at the mirror, using one of the drawers in her dresser as a step, she stared. She was two. She knew because her ears still had the first set of earrings she ever owned in them. She knew because she was wearing her pink feety-pajamas. After the incident with Cloud, her father had gotten rid of them. Embarrassed she had been kidnapped in them.

She touched her face lightly, scared if she pressed too hard it would change into her forty year old face, and this was all a figment of her imagination. Even if it was...she would try.

Determination welled up in her. She would do as Naruto asked. She would save lives. And her own.

Naruto.

Her thoughts went back to what he had said in his mind. Had he meant it? Had he really loved her? She could hope.

She would save him too. she would save him from the hardships he faced. She would be his friend. She would confess when they were older, and, if it ended well, she would stop him from marrying the wrong girl. Even if it didn't work between them in the end, she would stop him from being unhappy.

But first. First she needed to convince everyone she was still her two year old self. She was a different person now, so she would have to act and pretend to be her younger self, and slowly change 'Young Hinata' until she had her older self's personality. She could only hope that she as a person wouldn't give herself away. If the clan saw anything out of the ordinary, they would act-

Her eyes widened, and she quickly brought chakra to her eyes -she could mold chakra. Good- Her Byakugan activated -better still, but also problematic- she looked at her chakra network. Fully developed. Her chakra pool was far too large for a two year old. Shit.

She tried to compress it, but she knew it would be too difficult. If she had to focus on acting as her child self, compress her chakra and not give away anything in the future, she would surely fail. Even if she didn't need to worry about the other things, hiding chakra from the Byakugan didn't really work.

Hinata took a deep breath, calming herself. There was no use panicking. She would hide her Byakugan. She would start training more. If anyone asked, she had a bad dream, and wanted to be stronger so she could feel safe. She would act confused when they mention the chakra, like she didn't know what they were talking about. They would examine her system and poke and prode, but they would eventually decide it was just a growth spurt of a sort. Or they'd torture her until she broke, thinking she had killed the real Hinata and tried to take her place.

Dressing herself in simple clothing, Hinata set her plan in motion. But, before she could leave the room, she needed to start crying.

That was simple enough. All she had to do was uncap the lid she kept tight on her memories. Her forty years of life had not been the kindest.

* * *

 _Pein came out of no where, and Kami how he made them suffer. He leveled entire civilian blocks. With her Byakugan activated, she could see how so, so many lives were snuffed out at once, all around her._

 _She watched Hinabi die. Her sister never stood a chance, as she was sent flying into the crumbling remains of what was once the academy. She was run through by a sharp piece of timber, that had stood nearly vertical. Hanabi's body was left on display. Hinata wanted so much to pull her down, but there hadn't been any time._

 _She watched Shino and Kiba die. She hadn't witnessed it, but even Akamaru had died. Shino ended up nothing more than an empty shell, all his bugs just as dead as he was. Kiba had been ripped apart, a summons snapping him up in its jaws, and ironically shaking him like a puppy with a chew toy._

 _And then, after more of her comrades had died, Hinata watched Naruto challenge Pein. She didn't watch long, however, because then she herself died. She had wanted to help him. To fight along side him. Maybe she would have confessed after the fight. Maybe even during it. But, before she had died, she had decided that it was now or never. She was a grown woman, a battle-hardened Kunoichi. She could handle confessing to the man she'd loved since they were young children._

 _When she awoke from her death, she had been greeted with a heartbreaking sight._

 _Sakura was kissing Naruto. Kissing him and sobbing into his chest, hugging him and telling him how worried she was, how much she loved him._

 _And Naruto could not have looked happier._

 _With that image in her mind, Hinata decided to ignore her crush. He had someone else, and he was happy. And she was happy for him. Naruto deserved who ever his heart desired. In a way, it was better it was Sakura he chose, because she was his team mate. They had been through so much together. It made sense that they would fall for one another._

 _Some resolve she had._

* * *

Her heart clenched, but still the memories weren't enough to make her cry. Maybe all her tears had dried up during the Fourth War?

* * *

 _Kiba was running, running as fast as he could to get to his dog. They had been separated in the blast, Akamaru being thrown into a crowd of enemies. Despite how she could clearly tell they didn't want to do it, the dead shinobi all aimed their attacks on the dog._

 _She was too busy holding off her own opponent to help him, or to see the danger he was barreling into. Had she known he was going to attack that many enemies at once, she would have disengaged and at least provided him with some back up so they could get Akamaru and then get out of there._

 _Sadly, she did not. She held off her enemy long enough for someone to seal it, and as she turned around, she felt what was left of her already cracked heart crumble. Kiba was on the ground. No one was helping him up, or taking the time to notice that he was down in the first place._

 _He was burnt, beaten and cut to pieces. his arms were unattached to his shoulders, his stomach ripped open. His flesh charred black and still smoking from the fire that had once been devouring his body._

 _She ran to him, ducking under stray kunai and long distance attacks to reach him. She lifted him gently and wrapped her arms around him, not caring that her clothes were becoming stained a deep, angry shade of red._

 _"Kiba-kun."_

 _Nothing._

 _She shook him a little._

 _Nothing._

 _She slapped him._

 _Nothing._

 _She did everything she could to wake him, but there was no response. No pulse. No breath._

 _And soon Hinata could only cry as she gripped him tightly. Only loosening her grip on him to kill any enemy that got too close._

* * *

That. That was enough. Remembering that she hadn't been there for Kiba, or Akamaru, in their final moments was enough to make her cry.

With tears in her eyes, Hinata stumbled out of her room and rushed for where she hoped her mother would be. Sure enough, it was early enough in the morning that she caught her mother sitting in the garden, drinking tea and watching the morning sun rise above the walls surrounding the compound.

Hinata sniffled softly, but loud enough for her mother to hear her. Her mother turned and Hinata felt her heart clench once again. She had forgotten how beautiful her mother was, or how similar they looked. Hanabi would look nothing like their mother, but she would be able to pass as Neji's little sister, if she ever wanted to.

"Hinata-chan, what's the matter?" Her mother asked, wrapping her arms around Hinata. For a moment she stiffened, not used to the affection. The only people who hugged her now a days were Hanabi and her son, and Neji's children. When was the last time anyone else hugged her?

Whimpering, Hinata clung tightly to her mother, "I-I had bad d-dream!"

Her mother cooed softly to her, all the while rocking her back and forth gently, "Poor Hinata-chan. Tell me what happened."

What happened? Oh, there was so much to say.

"H-had bunch of friends, and we fighting big, mean bad man in a great big war and- and- he beat us all up."

She was scooped up into her mother's arms and rocked back and forth. Hinata began to cry further, but not because of her 'nightmare' or the memories of the war, but because it had been so long since anyone held her while she cried, and because she had missed her mother so much, even though she could hardly remember her some days.

"Hush, Hinata-chan. You are alright now. The bad man was just a bad dream, like you said. You do not have to worry about him."

"B-but, what if bad man does come a-and attacks?"

She felt her mother pause for only a brief moment, before the physically older woman smiled down at her, "Then you'll just have to be strong enough to protect the friends you make."

Hinata could not help but stare up at her mother with wide eyes. Had her mother always been like this? Had she always been so...so...

With a beaming smile, her mother ran a hand through her hair as she set the crying 'child' down. She gently wiped away Hinata's tears with her sleeve before she got to her feet, "Come now, Hinata-chan, and let's get you some breakfast."

Nodding, Hinata took her mother's hand and let her lead er to the kitchens, where already a Branch member was preparing breakfast. Her mother greeted the cook cheerfully, and the pair exchanged gossip and small talk while Hinata quietly ate her breakfast.

Eventually, the cook turned to Hinata, and he gave her a smile, "So, Hinata-chan, are you looking forward to the party tonight?"

Party? What party? The only party Hinata found worth remembering from this time was the one on her third birth-

 _'You're fucking kidding me, right?'_

* * *

After assuring the cook she was indeed 'really excited!' for her birthday party, Hinata was whisked off to prepare for the event by one of the other Branch members. She was very strict about it all, and continued to remind Hinata that she had to be on her best behavior. Hinata hadn't understood the first time around, but this party was less about her birthday, and more about making a good impression on the Elders and the guests of the Clan.

Her birthday was less about her, and more about the Hyuuga Clan Heir.

Preparations took the entire day. While Hinata was bathed and groomed and dressed and lectured, she was lost in thought, planning for the 'special event' she knew was coming up that night.

 _'What will I do? No ninjutsu. That'll tip off everyone there's more to me. I probably can't get away with using the gentle fist. I'm a child, so I can't be refined. It needs to be messy and look like it was done by a panicking child. I'm only just turning three, so I probably shouldn't even try to use the Gentle Fist. I need something crude.'_

As soon as Hinata was left alone for a moment, she snuck down the hall towards the training rooms. When she saw that no one was in the training room closest to her, Hinata slunk into the room and headed for the storage closet inside. Sliding the door open, she found a box full of razor sharp kunai. She quickly grabbed three and hid them on her person. As long as no one looked at her with their Byakugan activated, no one would know about the weapons hidden in the folds of her clothing.

* * *

She was lead out of her room by her mother, and Hinata was glad to hold her mother's hand the entire way out to the gardens. Clan members from both the Branch and the Main family milled about, conversing an eating food, but Hinata could see the obvious divide. Most Branch members spoke only to other Branch members, and the Main family members sneered down at the Branch members. There were a small few who were civil with one another, and she promised herself that someday, they would all be like this.

Her mother lead Hinata to where her father and Uncle Hizashi were waiting. Neji clung to his father, but peaked out to look at Hinata for a moment.

Hinata was proud to say she prevented herself from gushing in adoration. She had forgotten how cute her cousin had been as a child. He had changed so much since her Uncle's death. Tilting her head back to look up at him, Hinata internally nodded to herself. Yes...She would change things.

It wasn't fair that her Uncle would die because her father saved her. It wasn't fair that Neji would lose his father. It wasn't fair that Neji would then be pushed and pushed so he could gain some recognition for his genius.

"Happy Birthday, Hinata-sama." Hizashi greeted down to her.

Hinata glanced at her father for the tiniest moment, before she gave her Uncle the most bright, Naruto-inspired grin she could muster, "Thank you, Uncle Hizashi!"

Hiashi could be seen staring at his daughter. While Hinata was rather...emotional...compared to some members of the clan, it was shocking to see her display this much, especially to her Uncle, when she had barely acknowledged her father.

"Hinata." Her father said. It was clear he was less than pleased with her emotional greeting, and her lack of interest in her father.

"Tou-san." Hinata greeted back, before giving her father a slight bow.

Hiashi would later swear he saw something akin to a condescending look on his daughter's face, like she was merely greeting him and bowing in respect to humour him. He hoped that this was not a sign of what was o come as Hinata aged. He was not sure he would know what to do with a rebellious teen for a daughter.

Thank Kami she was only turning three today.

One by one, clan members from both 'families' made their way up to Hinata, wishing her a happy birthday while adding in some comment on how proud she'll make the clan someday. She did her best not to snort in amusement. She made sure to give each Branch member a beaming smile, while giving Main clan members a bored polite expression. Her parents and Uncle noticed, but they did not comment on her favoritism.

Eventually, people stopped coming up to her, and the 'birthday party' continued. Hinata was sent off to play with the other clan children.

Almost instantly, she latched into Neji's arm and tugged him along with her.

This time, she'd make sure her future self had someone to lean on when the elders decided to ruin her plans. This time, she'd make sure she had someone in her clan to consider family.

* * *

Hinata was put to bed at nine o'clock that night, although the party continued on after she was sent off. The 'child' did not change out of her clothes, instead choosing to flop directly onto her bed. A little smirk rested on her lips.

Her father wouldn't be taking away her feety-pajamas this time. If he wanted her to look good when she got kidnapped, she'd just wear this instead. This was good enough to get kidnapped in. Besides, she didn't want blood on her pajamas. The kimono she was wearing could be destroyed for all she cared. She knew she would never wear it again anyways.

She cured up under the covers and let herself doze, but not fall completely asleep. Her past training allowed her to slow her heart rate and breathing rate to mimic that of a sleeping person.

The party quieted down and ended a few hours later, and soon the compound was as silent as the dead. Hinata continued to lay there, gently circulating her chakra to keep herself awake. It was pure energy, so why not use it to stay energized? She made sure to move it slow enough that no one would really notice as her chakra shifted around inside her.

When the Cloud shinobi came into her room, they didn't notice at all.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Let's grab her and get going."

The words were whispered quietly enough that only a ninja would be able to hear them clearly, and Hinata was grateful that her body was naturally acting as it had when she was older; instinctively channeling chakra to her senses.

A hand shot out and covered Hinata's mouth. The other arm wrapped around her roughly and she was picked up. Hinata's eyes flew open and she kicked her feet weakly, crying into the hand on her face.

In a flash she was outside. In the moonlight, she could see three Kumo nin. The one holding her was a man, and she believed he was the first to speak in her room. His headband shone proudly to display his village against his fair hair. The next was the only woman, and she recognized her as the one who had confirmed that Hinata was 'the one'. The woman was short and masculine, clearly there for physical support, and not one to be sent on a honey-pot mission, or anything similar. Unless her target was one who liked...buff...women. The third kidnapper was younger than the other two, with a nervous look on his face as his brown eyes darted from place to place.

"L-Let's go. Before we're spotted, or they notice her gone." The nervous one said. He started off with a nervous stutter, before he mustered up his confidence and calmed down. Hinata nearly smirked. He'd be easy to scare into slipping up.

The three Kumo-nin rushed away from the compound.

"Did you see any other interesting targets?" The woman asked the nervous one.

"Yeah! There's an entire compound of Uchiha, and the ones closer to the walls are less guarded than the homes in the middle, so we could try getting one of them...there's the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi compounds too, their security is none existent."

"Alright," the woman said, "I'll snatch up an Uchiha. Kaze, you can try for one of the other three, or more if you think its worth the risk."

The man holding Hinata suddenly threw her towards the nervous one, who caught the child easily. Oh, this was too good.

Hinata could not remember these events happening in the past, but they were working for her favour. She would be left alone with the weakest in the trio. The woman would not survive stepping foot into the Uchiha compound, and only a fool would attack any of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. If you took one child from any of them, you'd have three clans hunting you down.

The thought of the three clan patriarchs attacking the Kumo-nin made her smile, much to the suspicion of the shinobi- a boy in her eyes- holding her.

"What are you smiling at?"

Hinata only yawned, like the exhausted three-year-old she was meant to be. She raised a hand and rubbed her eye, "When can I go home? Don't wanna play...sleepy."

"Then sleep." The man -a boy in her eyes, given her age- said, putting on what was actually almost a true smile. What a newb. "We're gonna go for a walk...and when you wake up, we'll be home."

He'll be home. Hinata would have been in hell. If she let him get away with this. As the Cloud-nin made his way towards what Hinata assumed would be a meeting point of some sort, she was happily aware of the three knives hidden on her person. She'd only have to wait long enough for him to be distracted while she pulled one of them out.

Even without her future strength, a surprise attack would be more than effective...and it wasn't like this guy had any idea she was planning to spill his blood anyways.

Hinata let herself fall nearly limp in his arms, murmuring about how tired she was before forcing her breath to slow. Her right arm hung down, and swung just enough to release the blade hidden in her sleeve.

The boy paused for a moment, resting against a tree. He was likely catching his breath and trying to determine if there was anyone following him.

He'd never find out.

Despite how slow her limbs moved, she was fast enough to catch him be surprise. The sharpened steel slid through the flesh and cartilage of his throat as though it were butter. She swung herself from his shocked arms just in time to avoid most of the spray of scarlet blood that shot from his throat. He dropped to his knees, eyes wide with horror as he gripped at the gaping hole in his neck. He stared at the little girl.

Hinata only looked back at him with unfeeling eyes as she wiped the blood from her kunai on the boy's headband. In the confusion, he'd failed to notice her stealing it.

"One down." She sighed. The body dropped to the forest floor completely, and there was silence.

* * *

It was twenty minutes before one of the other Cloud-nin found them. It was the man who'd taken her from her room. He came into the clearing running like the bats of hell were on his tail. What followed after him was much worse. It was an angry Akimichi Choza.

Although she had been waiting for someone to show up, the sudden arrival of the enemy ninja had Hinata react on instinct. Before she could stop herself, the kunai had already flown from her hand and in bedded itself in the Cloud-nin's leg. He stumbled and an instant later, Choza had him.

With Choji nowhere in sight, Hinata assumed the enemy had been spotted before he could escape, and rather than try to take the kid with him, the man had dropped the boy somewhere and fled.

Hinata sniffled loudly, whimpering like the scared child she was pretending to be.

The large clan head looked towards Hinata, the Cloud-nin unconscious and bound at his feet.

Akimichi Choza did not know what to make of the scene. Young Hyuuga Hinata, who had gone missing earlier that night, sat in a pool of blood, a Cloud-nin's corpse crumpled on the ground by her side. She was crying, clearly scared and confused. But to the heavy man's surprise, the child, the three-year-old, had her Byakugan activated.

"Hyuuga-chan?"

"W-wanna go home..."

"Oh poor thing." The large man said to himself. He gently picked up the little girl, but held her in such a way that she wouldn't be able to attack him. Hinata was glad to see some shinobi remembered to be cautious. She could have been an enemy in disguise. He created a clone of some kind to carry the Cloud-nin. Hinata had no sympathy for the kidnapping bastard. He'd be stuck with T & I for a long time...with an angry Inoichi...and he deserve every second of it.

"Let's get you home...your parents have been very worried about you..." Choza told her as he began running back to the safety of the village, "What happened, hm? Can you tell me?"

"There was a bad man...an' he took me from my room...an' there was a mean woman...she went to get an Uchiwa...an'...an' the bad man went to get someone else...an' the other one tried to run away with me...but...I stole his knife and-" Hinata began sobbing louder. She covered her face, smearing the blood from her hands across relatively clean skin.

Knowing she was safe, Hinata's body began shutting down as the lack of sleep caught up with her. This body was too young to go on so long without sleep. She hadn't even napped earlier that day, and as a result, her body was exhausted. She fell asleep curled up in Choza's arms.

* * *

The moment Choza stepped into the Hyuuga compound, he was greeted by a worried Hyuuga clan head and his wife, Hikari, both desperate to see what had happened to their child. While Hiashi was much to refined to outwardly show his concern, Choza could tell the man was just as relieved as his wife.

"Akimichi-san...would you like to join me in my office?"

Nodding, Choza followed his fellow clan head into a separate room.

"Do you know what happened?"

Frowning, Choza began to explain how a Cloud-nin had broken into his compound and attempted to run off with his son, Choji. Luckily, the baby had been awake and wailed before the ninja could get far with him. Choza's team mates, Shikaku and Inoichi had been visiting, and the three of them had rushed to save the child. The man dropped Choji when they continued to pursue him out of the village walls. Inoichi had taken Choji back, and he and Shikaku had continued to pursue the enemy, when Shikaku noticed others running in the trees with them. They split up to take on the opponents, with Choza chasing the one who tried to take his son.

Choza then told Hiashi about he state he found Hinata in, Byakugan activated and her skin and clothes drenched in blood.

"Are you...sure her Byakugan was activated?"

Despite the situation, he could hear Hiashi's pride. From what Choza knew of the clan, it was very rare to awaken their Blood Limit that early. It was very impressive.

"Yes."

"Thank you. For bringing her home."

"It was no trouble."

* * *

Not even twenty four hours into her mission to the past, and already, Hinata knew she had changed things for the better.

Because Hinata had killed the Cloud-nin in what everyone knew was self-defense, outside of the village, Cloud could not accuse her father of murdering the ambassador. Her father wasn't accused, so her uncle didn't have to sacrifice himself. The village had Cloud sign the treaty, but they had also humiliated Cloud and added more to their side of the treaty, rather than declare war.

With her Uncle still alive, Neji would have a chance to grow up happy, and Hinata's father wouldn't be as harsh when he trained her. In her old past, people thought her father trained her so harshly because she was his heir, or because she was weak. It was not. While she was weak, the reason for all the training was driven by her father's grief. He didn't want anyone else to die protecting her.

Things would be different now for the little girl she used to be...the little girl she was now, once again.

* * *

 ** _And there you have it! The second chapter of For Them! Again, it was a shorter chapter, and it was really lacking the in action department, but there wasn't a great deal I could do with Hinata running around her a toddler's body. Even though she has plenty of chakra, there's not a lot you can do when a puppy could do more damage than you...ya know?_**

 ** _But even if there wasn't much happening in this chapter, it's set up for a lot of other things to happen, so I hope that can make up for it..._**

 ** _Thank you for Reviewing: Darke Zombie, Devilzxknight86, KingOsiris, Flameraven, gio08, raichal234, Darion of the Abyss, Enbi, rmiser1994, Chewie Cookies, SugarySkull, HitmaN007, Neon and the Lost Soul, Roxie.88, Hulksmash with Dragonfist, and Hyuuga Hitomichan!_**

 ** _I really appreciate everyone who Followed, Favourited and Reviewed this story! So far, For Them has:_**

 ** _Reviews: 16 Followers: 56 Favourites: 28 Communities: 1_**

 ** _please continue showing your support, and let me know what you thought of this chapter!_**


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